The Founder


Sarah Powell, PT, MPT, FAAOMPT, CERT DIN/SMT

Sarah is the founder and CEO of Performance Physio, a specialized concierge outpatient manual therapy practice in the greater Phoenix area. She has a special interest in treating athletes and their orthopedic presentations, spinal and craniocervical disorders including cervicogenic headaches, cervical and lumbar radiculopathic pain disorders, hip dysfunction, and shoulder disorders. 

Sarah is a mentor within the A.T. Still University Orthopedic Residency Program, a mentor for Fellows-in-Training and a mentor for physical  therapist seeking to become proficient at cash-based physical therapy. She has served as a guest lecturer for the California State Northridge and Franklin Pierce University physical therapy programs. She has also had the opportunity to present advanced differential diagnosis presentations for the Arizona Physical Therapy Association.

Sarah is passionate about giving back to her patients, colleagues, and profession through teaching and mentoring.

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Education

Master of Physical Therapy
Fellow, American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Therapy
Post Graduate Certification in Dry Needling and Spinal Manipulation
CEO/Founder Performance Physio, PLLC

Sarah earned her Bachelor’s in Applied Health with a Physical Therapy emphasis in 2003 after graduating from Azusa Pacific University. She went on to earn a Masters of Physical Therapy in 2007 from California State University, Northridge. Sarah has extensive experience and training in both neurologic and orthopedic physical therapy. She has worked at Cedar’s-Sinai Medical Center and the Northridge Hospital Acute Rehabilitation Unit, gaining experience in spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, poly-trauma, and stroke rehabilitation. Sarah’s diverse professional background affords her a unique perspective and expertise that complements and informs her current private practice in Phoenix, AZ.

Sarah moved to Arizona in 2011 and entered into outpatient orthopedic physical therapy practice and business ownership. She has owned a cash-based outpatient physical therapy clinic since 2014. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists and has received mentorship from Tim Fearon, PT, DPT, FAAOMPT. She has over 15 years of professional experience and education including specialized training in the management of complex spine syndromes. Sarah’s extensive manual therapy training includes:

  • Laurie Hartman’s Master Class Series for Manipulative Therapy

  • ​Spinal Manipulation Institute (Courses 1-4)

  • Phoenix Manual Therapy Long Term Course taught by Tim Fearon, PT, DPT, FAAOMPT

  • The Advanced Course Series offered by the European CRAFTA organization in Craniomandibular/Craniofacial Assessment and Treatment

  • Dry Needling Institute (Courses 1-3)

  • Hobbs Master’s Needling Series – DIN 1, DIN 2, DIN 3a.  F.A.C.E.

 


My Story – Why I Specialized 

Someone once told me that if you want something to happen, create it! Well, this is what I discovered I needed to do with my skillset in Physical Therapy after seeking treatment from multiple Physical Therapists for a low back and leg pain problem I was dealing with from a car accident. I saw numerous therapists for the same problem, and none were able to address my main concern. Like anyone in pain, I felt frustrated and confused on why they couldn’t help me. Surely, they should be able to help me, right? After all they had gone through so much school, like I had, and they said they could help me! But weeks past, months even, and no relief.

This was the catalyst that drove me to specialize in Orthopedic Manual Therapy. I wanted to be able to help people in pain and truly help them, not just pretend I could and end up wasting their time and money. So then began my journey and hunger for knowledge on how to become an Orthopedic expert. I began taking many courses from spinal manipulation to dry needling, to Mulligan courses and others and then finally entered into a Fellowship program in 2014. It is here that I began to understand what it would require to become efficient and effective at diagnosing and properly treating patients with Orthopedic pain presentations. At the same time as entering into the Fellowship program, I opened a Cash-Based Physical Therapy practice where I would use my skill sets I learned in a one-on-one environment with my patients.

Reflecting back, I now understand the ingredients that are needed to facilitate an optimal healing strategy for the patient. These ingredients are adequate practitioner knowledge/training and sufficient treatment time.  First, the practitioner/therapist will need to seek out training and mentorship in order to create proficiency in knowledge to manage patients. Secondly, having enough time with a one-on-one therapist/client environment allows for adequate integration of knowledge, treatment and assessment. 

You see, the majority of physical therapy treatment environments contain Physical Therapist with general knowledge that have not gone above and beyond to specialize in Orthopedics. Additionally, the majority of Physical Therapy clinics work off of an insurance model, requiring the therapist to see multiple patients at one time. Both these factors, unfortunately, impact the patients’ outcomes in a negative manner with the end results of treatment with marginal progress.

So today, in order to pursue optimal results for patients and the community, Performance Physio, offers not only an optimal one-on-one treatment environment with experts to facilitate healing for its patients’, but also is offering mentorship to Physical Therapist that desire to improve their knowledge base and skillset in order to improve their outcomes for their patients.

BRING BACK YOUR OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE

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